The New Kid in School
by Sapadu
Summary: Yugi's new at his high school, and he doesn't have any friends. So... how does he meet Tea?


New Kid in School

By Sapadu

This is a story about when Yugi first came to his high school. Before he met Tristan and Joey. Before he solved the Millennium Puzzle. Before he met Tea.

... Okay... not so much the last...

Hi! I'm Yugi Motou. I've been living with my Grandpa in the Domino Game shop for about a year, now. It's not exactly the same as when I lived with my mom and dad but... still... it's not like I'm homeless... and Grandpa loves me and we've got a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs.... that's all that REALLY matters...

But Grandpa's worried that I don't have any friends at school... it's not really MY fault, and he doesn't act like it is... but he keeps bringing it up. Really, it's just that I'd rather stay inside and work on puzzles and solitaire games than go out and play sports... well, I'd be causing Grandpa more trouble if I got sick in the cold weather, and I don't want to make anyone mad at me... I'm not that good at sports... I'd lose the game for whatever team I was on...

There is this ONE girl who I really like... her name's Tea. She's got big, bright blue eyes and short brown hair. She's always smiling and is always nice to everyone. I don't think I've ever seen her get mad at anyone (except for this one time when she caught the hall monitor bullying some first years, but even then...) and... she's just... nice....

And pretty.

And today, I'm going to TALK to her!

I told Grandpa about it last night: I was so excited. He smiled and said he was happy I wanted to make friends (though I don't think I was supposed to hear that little comment he made about high school girls...) and told me to get a good night's sleep and everything.

I went to bed early, got up early, brushed my hair until it was soft as silk, brushed my teeth until they sparkled, washed my face until my cheeks turned pink from scrubbing so hard, ate a big breakfast to help me feel more confident, and wore my school uniform as neatly as I could.

I wanted to impress her. Girls ALWAYS seem to like guys who look good so...

I walked to school quickly and sat on the school steps, waiting for Tea to get there. It was chilly, and I shivered. It made me think: what if Tea really wasn't as nice as everyone seemed to think she was? What if she'd heard about me: the little punk who always sits in the back of the class, not talking to anyone, never looking up... nobody really does like me that much...

No! Couldn't start thinking like that! I'd done a lot to impress her and I was GOING to talk to her... maybe... if she came to school... what if she was sick? What if her parents went on vacation and she went with them? What if she didn't go into the school through the doors I was sitting in front of? What if she was already there?

And what was I going to talk to her about? I didn't know what kind of music Tea liked! Or did she like music at all? What kind of movies she liked! Did Tea like to watch sports games or concerts? Did she like to talk about food or books or nature or... or...

I was really starting to panic when the first bell rang. There are two bells that ring before school: one half an hour before we have to be in our classrooms and the second when class starts. Tea's ALWAYS at school before the first bell rings... what if she was late? I'd be late to class, too, then and I KNEW Grandpa wouldn't be too happy with me about that...

No... Tea was at school, she was walking with a group of girls, chatting and laughing at some story one of the others had just told.

I swallowed, stood up, and forced my legs to move. I imagined my Grandpa sitting on the steps, cheering me on: 'You can do it, Yugi. Just go over and talk to her and if she isn't as nice as you thought, then she's not worth it! You can do it...' Yeah... yeah, that's what Grandpa would say...

I reached Tea and stared up at her face. I felt so... well... SHORT! And I usually am a lot shorter than everyone else in my grade but... I felt REALLY short compared to Tea, and she's not really too tall for her age, either.

"Um... uh... Tea...?" I muttered, using every ounce of determination I had to not look at my shoes. Tea turned her blue eyes on me and smiled. I swear, it made me melt in my shoes right there when she did that. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Behind her, all the other girls were pointing at me and giggling and whispering behind their hands, as though they thought I couldn't hear them or see them. It really made me feel... pretty bad. And if they were Tea's friends, was Tea like that, too.

Well, there went my spine...

"Yeah? What?" Tea asked. I started to stare at my shoes, despite all of my efforts not to.

"Nothing. Never mind. Sorry." I mumbled and walked away, still staring at the ground. The other girls were still giggling.

I felt like crying. Really, I was surprised that I didn't start right there. I felt bad that I hadn't had enough guts to actually say 'Hi' to Tea, and I knew Grandpa was going to be disappointed, because he'd really been happy about me finding a friend...

But it also really hurt how those other girls had pointed and whispered. I guess I shouldn't have really expected too much more... I am kind of a freak, after all...

"Hey! Wait up!" I stood up straight. I thought for a minute I had just imagined it, but a few minutes later, Tea came up behind me, still smiling.

"Hi! You're Yugi, right?" She asked, and I nodded, not daring to hope.

"I see you always working on puzzles in the back of the classroom during recess. You're really good at them." She said, still smiling. I blinked at her. Had I just heard that right?

"Th-thanks... Tea..." I stammered, feeling a bit uneasy.

"What kind of puzzles do you like the most?" Tea asked, while I pondered.

"3-D puzzles. They're really challenging." I replied, enthusiastically. Tea made a face.

"I never really can do a 3-D puzzle. They're too hard for me." She pouted. I have to say, she looked really cute.

"I brought one from home to work on today. Do you... um... want to give it a try... together?" I asked, feeling a little more shy again.

"Sure. That would be great." Tea said, walking next to me as we walked through the school doors.

"Hey, Yugi..." She said. I turned to look at her.

"Yeah?"

"I think you're really cute." Tea said, smiling and walking away.

So... today wasn't too bad...

Tomorrow, I'm going to ask Tea if she'll sit next to me at lunch.

Meh. This is based loosely on a story I wrote for English class.

And about the remark Yugi's Grandpa makes about high school girls, in the first volume of the manga, when Tea meets Solomon Motou, he says something about her being a high school girl, and if I recall correctly, it's a comment much like Shigure Sohma's from Fruits Basket.


End file.
